North Carolina Down Payment Assistance Systems

Payments Gateway - The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency has two great plans for first-time Home Buyers. These systems will be the Mortgage Credit Certificate as well as the deposit Assistance System.

You purchase a home between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009 and if you qualify for one of these programs, you can even be eligible for the $8,000 tax credit just enacted into law.

First, who is a First Time Home Buyer? A first-time Home Buyer is someone who has not owned a house in the previous three years. It is exactly the same qualifying definition for the $8,000 tax credit.

A Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) is a federal tax credit to assist home buyers with low and moderate incomes. All home owners can claim an itemized deduction. The MCC takes this a step further. An MCC “reduces your tax liability depending on a percentage of the mortgage interest that you pay.

Should you qualify for the MCC, it is possible to claim 20% of the interest you pay on your mortgage as a credit on your federal income taxes. You can save up to .

If you do qualify for 2009, for the MCC, you will be able to join this. This might reduce a buyer's tax liability .

Who Qualifies for an MCC?

Who qualifies for an MCC is based on the purchase price of the property as well as your income you are buying. Household income is defined as the “gross income of the mortgagor and any man expected to live in the home who's 18 years old or older.”

The income and house price limitations that apply in Orange, Durham and Chatham Counties are given below.

MCC Income Limits 1 Man $61,500 2 Individuals $61,500 3 Men $70,500 4 Individuals $70,500

MCC Sales Cost Limits New House $220,000 Existing Residence $210,000

The purchaser just needs to pay $1,000 of their own funds and the load would pay up to $8,000 of the remaining balance.

This program has stricter income limits than the MCC plan outlined above. Like the MCC program, it might be used in combination with the new $8,000 tax credit on house purchases between December 1, 2009 and January 1, 2009. The deposit assistance, nonetheless, cannot be applied along with the MCC. This is an either or situation.

House price limits that apply in Durham, Orange and Chatham Counties and the income are given below.

Down Payment Assistance Income Limits

1 Individual $39,950 2 Persons $45,650 3 Individuals $51,350 4 Men $57,050

Down Payment Support Sales Price Limits New House $210,000 Existing Home $210,000